Died On This Date (March 25, 2008) Gene Puerling / The Hi-Lo’s
themusicsover Gene Puerling
March 31, 1929 – March 25, 2008
Gene Puerling, the one-time leader and celebrated vocal arranger of the Hi-Lo’s passed away March 25, 2010 of complications from diabetes. He was 78. His group’s complex vocal arrangement were said to influence Brian Wilson, the Mamas and the Papas, the Gatlin Brothers, Take 6 and the Manhattan Transfer who earned Puerling a Grammy for his 1981 arrangement of “A Nightingale Sang In Washington Square.”
Nathan Scott was a prolific composer and arranger who had over 100 film and TV music credits to his name. Over a career that spanned from the early ’40s through the ’70s, Scott helped create the music of such television shows as Lassie, Dragnet, My Three Sons, Rawhide, and The Twilight Zone. His film credits include The Color Purple and Wake of the Red Witch. He was also the father of Grammy-winning saxophonist, Tom Scott. Nathan Scott died of natural causes on February 27, 2010.
Hugo Montenegro was a popular film score composer and orchestra leader whose most popular work came out during the ’60s and ’70s. His use of synthesizers became a major influence upon contemporary electronic musicians. He was also embraced by fans of space pop and lounge music during the ’90s. Montenegro had several hits with his interpretations of film scores of the time. His cover of the theme song of Clint Eastwood’s The Good The Bad and The Ugly made it to #2 on the Billboard pop chart. Montenegro also created the theme songs for I Dream Of Jeannie and Here Come the Brides for television. He died of emphysema on February 6, 1981.
Willie Dixon is best remembered as one of the few main architects of the Chicago blues sound. As a singer, bassist and prolific songwriter, Dixon was one of themost influential figures of the era. He was also considered one of the key bridges between blues and rock ‘n roll. Dixon wrote such blues staples as “Little Red Rooster,” “Hoochie Coochie Man,” and “I Ain’t Superstitious” and has been covered by the likes of Led Zeppelin, Cream, the Faces, Bob Dylan, Queen, the Grateful Dead and the Rolling Stones. In later years, Dixon worked to secure royalties and copyrights for blues artists who had been exploited int the past. He suffered from diabetes for many years and succumbed to heart failure at the age of 76.
Hank Crawford was an alto saxophonist who, besides making several of his own acclaimed jazz recordings, was a sideman to some of the biggest names in popular music. Over the years he’s recorded with such greats as Eric Clapton, B.B. King, and 